Juan Soto launched two home runs and the Mets used a three-run seventh to hold on and defeat the Phillies, 6-4, on Thursday night in Philadelphia. 

Here are the takeaways...

-New York got off to a fast start against Aaron Nola with Soto launching a solo shot with two outs in the opening frame. Jared Young reached on a fielding error by Nolan and A.J. Ewing made the Phillies starter pay with an RBI double.

Soto would launch his second homer of the game to lead off the third. The Mets slugger thought he flew out, but the wind carried it over the wall. 

-Sean Manaea, making his second start this season, had a tough start, allowing one run on two hits and a hit batter, but got out of it, allowing just the one run, thanks to a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play when Francisco Alvarez caught Bryce Harper trying to steal third base. After allowing a leadoff triple in the second, the southpaw escaped without allowing that run to score thanks to a groundout from Bryson Stott, a pop-up by J.T. Realmuto, and a groundout by Derek Hill -- pinch-hitting for Trea Turner after the shortstop was hit in the calf by a Manaea pitch in the first. 

In the third, Manaea was betrayed by his defense. Kyle Schwarber struck out, but a passed ball allowed him to reach first and an Alvarez throwing error allowed the slugger to reach second. Then, after a tremendous sliding catch by Soto to rob Harper of a double, Carson Benge tried to do the same to Alec Bohm's flyball in right field, but the ball hit the heel of his glove as he slid toward the foul line, allowing Schwarber to score on the double. 

Manaea allowed a run on a two-out single from Hill in the fourth but otherwise gutted through five innings for the Mets. He's get one out into the sixth before being pulled. The final line for the lefty saw him toss 95 pitches (63 balls), allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk while striking out five batters.

-The Mets would get to the Phillies bullpen. In the seventh, Eric Wagaman broke the 3-3 tie with a pinch-hit single, scoring Benge before Marcus Semien tripled to drive in two more. 

The Mets bullpen did its job, allowing just one base runner (one walk) in their 2.2 innings pitched. Here's how the bullpen broke down:

• Huascar Brazoban: 1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 K
• AJ Minter: 0.2 IP
• Luke Weaver: 1.0 IP, 3 K

But it got interesting in the ninth. Devin Williams allowed a one-out walk, but picked up two outs when the pinch-hitting Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit a chopper to Bo Bichette at third. Bichette threw the ball offline to allow the infield hit. Justin Crawford looped a single to push across the Phillies' fourth run and bringing up Kyle Schwarber as the winning run.

Schwarber hit a missile to right, but right at Brett Baty as Williams got the save. 

-Bichette, who was booed in every at-bat he took after choosing the Mets over the Phillies this offseason, finished 0-for-5.

Game MVP: Marcus Semien

Semien's two-run triple proved to be the difference in this one.

Highlights

JUAN SOTO LIFTOFF IN PHILLY! pic.twitter.com/f4lax4KjCP

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 18, 2026

An RBI double for A.J. Ewing makes it 2-0 Mets in the first! pic.twitter.com/092420Dp7F

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 18, 2026

A strike 'em out-throw 'em out double play at third base!

Francisco Alvarez gets Bryce Harper trying to steal third as Brandon Marsh strikes out! pic.twitter.com/X1rvgjgjcK

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 18, 2026

IT'S GONE!

A 2-homer game for Juan Soto! pic.twitter.com/VC3022KU88

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 18, 2026

A pinch-hit single for Eric Wagaman off of Jose Alvarado to give the Mets the lead! pic.twitter.com/oP3Sdad7Je

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 19, 2026

2-RUN TRIPLE MARCUS SEMIEN!

The Mets lead 6-3! pic.twitter.com/eoGwlkQqiW

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 19, 2026

What's next

The Mets have an off day on Friday before resuming their three-game set with the Phillies on Saturday evening. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m.

Freddy Peralta (5-5, 3.90 ERA) will take the mound against Cristopher Sanchez (8-3, 1.82 ERA). 

The Phillies will be without one of their major offseason acquisitions for the rest of the year.

Outfielder Adolis Garcia will undergo right latissimus dorsi repair surgery on June 24, which comes with a six-to-eight-month recovery, the team announced Thursday.

Garcia, 33, initially suffered the injury on a throw from right field in a game versus the Blue Jays in Toronto on June 10.

After third baseman Kazuma Okamoto lifted a fly ball toward Garcia, the right fielder unleashed a strong throw in an attempt to nab George Springer at home plate, hurting his shoulder in the process.

He was immediately removed from the game and later placed on the 60-day injured list with a torn right lat, but the team did not immediately rule him out for the season.

“We have not finalized his plans moving forward,” Phillies interim skipper Don Mattingly told reporters last week. “It’s an important one for him and his career, so everybody wants to get it right.”

The procedure marks the end of a disappointing 2026 for Garcia, who was brought on a one-year, $10 million deal in an attempt to recapture his prior All-Star form after the team moved on from the mercurial Nick Castellanos.

While Garcia provided solid defense, his offense left much to be desired as he posted a .195/.270/.329 slash line with seven home runs in 21 RBIs across 67 games.

Three of those homers had come in the week before the injury, but Garcia nonetheless registered a -0.8 WAR on the season.

Garcia spent time in Japan and with the Cardinals during his career before enjoying a breakout season with the Rangers in 2021.

The Cuban slugger hit 31 homers and made his first All-Star team that season, solidifying himself in the middle of Texas’ lineup.

He enjoyed an even better 2023 with the Rangers, making his second All-Star team, winning a Gold Glove and playing a pivotal role in the organization’s first World Series championship.

The Rangers non-tendered Garcia after a pair of subpar offensive campaigns from 2024-25.

After Garcia’s injury, the Phillies acquired speedster Derek Hill from the White Sox to add outfield depth.

ATLANTA — Here, a new number for all the statheads out there: innings pitched per hour of sleep.

In Carson Whisenhunt’s case, the ratio on Wednesday was something like 5:2. Even counting the short nap after his crack-of-dawn flight to make it on time for his spot start, Whisenhunt barely cracked four hours of shuteye.

He didn’t look bleary-eyed in his first major-league start of the season, keeping the Braves off the scoreboard for five innings and finishing with two earned runs over five-plus.

His reward: one full night’s sleep in the posh team hotel before boarding another flight back to rough it in Triple-A. Whisenhunt, the 27th man for the second game of the Giants’ doubleheader against the Braves, was sent back out after the 7-5 win. 

But he showed enough to convince manager Tony Vitello he’ll be back.

“He’s got the ability to be at this level,” Vitello said. “It wasn’t just about what he did today. You see the incline of improvement. He’ll have more days like this.”

For now, though, the Giants will continue to roll with Adrian Houser, Landen Roupp and Trevor McDonald behind Logan Webb and Robbie Ray. Tyler Mahle is also on a rehab assignment, though he was shaky in his first outing Tuesday, walking five in three innings.

There should be more opportunities following the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Ray, on the last year of his contract, is one of the likeliest candidates to be dealt if the Giants maintain their posture as sellers. Mahle, with a few strong starts under his belt, could also give a contender a low-cost option to boost their pitching depth.

The Giants aren’t exactly swimming in major-league arms themselves, but without much hope of making the playoffs, trading from the relative position of weakness would at least give them a chance to see if they can count on any of their internal options heading into next season.

Whisenhunt, as Vitello declared two weeks ago, would be the “next man up.”

“I just meant he’s doing well enough to get the call-up if circumstances come up,” Vitello said before Wednesday’s game. “Circumstances have come up, so here we are.”

Whisenhunt was with Triple-A Sacramento in Oklahoma City when he got word that he was getting the call late in their game Tuesday night. He packed his things and got to bed around 1 or 2 a.m. for a 7 a.m. flight to Atlanta, where he started on short rest about 12 hours later.

His evaluation: “Not the best it could have been, but for what I had to work with, I felt pretty solid.” 

It went better than just about any of the five starts Whisenhunt made in his big-league debut last summer, when he struggled with his command and batters punished him for lacking a second offspeed pitch. For the most part, it’s why he has been stuck at Triple-A for three years after rising quickly through the Giants’ system with a major league-ready changeup.

This time around, Whisenhunt still struggled to put away hitters, finishing with only two strikeouts, but settled in to retire 11 of 12 until allowing the first three batters of the sixth to reach. He issued two walks but left them both stranded on first base.

“He put on a clinic for how to handle traffic,” Vitello said. “Because there weren’t very many moments in the game where it was easy, or he just breezed. …

“To come in on a flight and all that stuff, I think it’s pretty commendable how well he pitched on the road against a great team, and then you add in all the circumstances, too.”

Vitello noticed a difference from the pitcher he watched for the first time in spring training.

“I thought [his] composure was at a high level,” Vitello said. “Whereas in spring training … composure got away and he kind of just went harder and madder and faster. There was a lot of poise out there today.”

At Triple-A, he has been working on a slider that he admitted was “still a work in progress,” particularly against right-handed hitters. Still, he said having the breaking ball to go with a fastball that sits 92-94 mph and his signature changeup is “definitely a lot of help.”

He gave a different explanation for what allowed him to earn the Pacific Coast League’s Pitcher of the Month award for May and post a 2.76 ERA in 10 starts since April 28.

“Just trusting my stuff in the zone,” he said. “Not trying to punch everybody out. If it happens, it happens. But just trying to get early contact and go further into the game.”

Now, on his way back to Triple-A, he knows that mindset can translate to The Show.

“It definitely makes it mentally better,” he said.

It was Bryan Woo’s world and we were all living in it Thursday afternoon. He spun an absolute gem as the M’s take both the rubber game and the season series from the Orioles, 3-0.

Woo faltered against the same team in Baltimore last Thursday, allowing seven runs over five innings. This time, though, he frustrated Orioles hitters all afternoon — he went seven-plus innings, striking out nine and allowing only three hits and a walk.

“Conditions were different, didn’t have a great feel for the ball in Baltimore, just fell into a lot of hitters counts,” Woo said when asked about adjustments between last week and now. “So I wanted to make sure that I came out and got ahead, was in the spots that I wanted to be in, and do what I wanted to do from there.”

Woo got ahead in the count early and often Thursday. He threw first pitch strikes to 16 of the 25 hitters he faced. He was also incredibly efficient despite nearly touching double digits in strikeouts — through seven innings, he was at only 80 pitches.

Though some other factors were likely at play, the last week further encapsulates a Tale of Two Seasons for Woo that has shown a major divergence between his home and road splits. Entering today, Woo was posting a 2.07 FIP at home, a much more productive figure than his 4.28 on the road. That discrepancy only figures to get larger after you factor in today’s outing.

The Mariners mounted a two-out rally to take the lead in the bottom of the first. Josh Naylor drove a single into right-center and was able to advance to second on an ill-fated decision by Leody Taveras to field the ball with his bare hand. After Dominic Canzone drew a walk, Cole Young scored Naylor with an opposite-field double down the left field line.

That wasn’t all for the M’s in the first. With both Canzone and Young in scoring position, Colt Emerson snuck a base hit through the right side to score two more runs and give Woo a comfortable lead in the early going.

Woo said he’s been impressed by both Emerson and Young’s consistency. “But they’re still kids. They’re still goofballs, they’re still idiots in the clubhouse.”

In the bottom of the second, the Mariners got the first two runners aboard, but couldn’t push across any runs. After getting tagged a bit in the early going, Orioles righty Shane Baz settled in. Neither team got much of anything going after the Mariners jumped out in front. Over the course of the afternoon, Baz also racked up nine strikeouts of his own over seven innings.

It wasn’t until the top of the eighth that a true threat materialized for the Orioles. Woo allowed a Taveras single to center field, then walked Colton Cowser to put two runners on with nobody out. With Woo at 89 pitches, manager Dan Wilson didn’t take any chances and brought in Eduard Bazardo to put out the fire.

Bazardo got the job done. After inducing a ground-ball fielder’s choice and a flyout that nearly gave me a heart attack, he froze Taylor Ward with a 97-mph sinker on the corner to end the threat.

The Mariners weren’t able to add any insurance in the bottom of the eighth, so Andrés Muñoz was called upon for a save opportunity in the ninth. Though he’d allow a couple of baserunners, including a walk to Gunnar Henderson to lead off the inning, Muñoz was able to shut the door. Taveras, representing the tying run with two outs, struck out on a quality slider to end it.

The win marks the Mariners’ first series win over the Orioles since 2022, and today was also Baltimore’s first time being shut out all season — the final team in the majors to be shut out for the first time.

At the end of the day, much like their climb through the farm system, it was Colt following in Cole’s footsteps in the first inning that’d ultimately be the difference in the game. Their combined three RBI were the only runs on the afternoon for either team.

“He’s another guy I look up to,” Emerson said on Young, his middle-infield counterpart. “He’s been here a year before me. He was my comp out of high school. He’s always been somebody that’s been ahead of me, that I look up to, and as even-keeled as he is, I know that he’s had a lot of success. So I know to have success, you gotta do the same thing.”

The Mariners will begin a three-game set against the Red Sox tomorrow at T-Mobile Park.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. was forced out of the Yankees’ 5-1 loss to the White Sox on Thursday night at the Stadium in one of the most painful ways imaginable.

During an at-bat in the bottom of the fourth, Chisholm fouled a ball straight off the ground near the plate, and the ball took an unfortunate bounce and hit Chisholm near the groin area.

The second baseman crumbled to the ground and remained there for several moments before Aaron Boone and the training staff came out to check on Chisholm, who eventually got to his feet but was clearly still in discomfort.

Unable to continue, Chisholm was removed from the game, and Anthony Volpe entered to finish the at-bat.

Volpe ended up drawing a walk against Chicago right-hander Sean Burke but was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.

Volpe remained in the game at shortstop, while José Caballero, who started the game at short, moved to second.

Boone said after the game the Yankees were still waiting to find out the severity of the injury, but the manager was “hoping” Chisholm was OK.

Austin Wells’ comeback from the cervical headaches that landed him on the IL on June 6 took a step forward Thursday, as the catcher hit a pair of homers during a minor league rehab game with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Prior to the Yankees closing out their series against the White Sox in The Bronx, Boone said the organization hadn’t made a decision as to whether Wells would come back for Friday’s game against the Reds, but they were “leaning” towards keeping him with SWB, especially since they were rained out Wednesday, robbing Wells of a day on the field, and they have a doubleheader Friday.

Boone said Wells, now over the headaches that sent him to the IL and kept J.C. Escarra in The Bronx, has worked with Jarret DeHart, the organization’s director of hitting, while with SWB.

“He’s had some good days of work,’’ Boone said of Wells, who went hitless in his first rehab game on Tuesday. “He’s getting some results. We want to keep building on that.”

Whether that translates to the majors is a different story, and as The Post’s Joel Sherman has reported, they could be in the market for a right-handed-hitting backstop to go along with Wells, with Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers a potential target.

Also at SWB, top prospect George Lombard Jr. was placed on the seven-day IL with what the Yankees termed “sprained fingers” in his left hand after he was slid into while covering second base on a stolen-base attempt Tuesday.

Despite the IL stint, Boone said there were “good initial signs on testing” and nothing else showed up, so the Yankees hope it’s a short absence for the shortstop.

The 21-year-old has played almost exclusively at short since Anthony Volpe has been back in the majors and is considered major league ready at the position.

José Caballero got the start at short Thursday.

On the bullpen front, Carlos Lagrange made his fourth relief appearance with SWB, and while he nearly touched 100 mph, the right-hander had mixed results over his 1 ²/₃-inning outing.

He allowed four runs — none earned — but gave up two hits and walked a pair without recording a strikeout.

The Yankees are in the process of transitioning him from the rotation, so the 23-year-old is pitching more frequently, including on three days’ rest Thursday. He is expected to join the Yankees bullpen at some point next month.

Angels superstar center fielder Mike Trout is headed to the team’s injured list due to a hamstring injury, as reported by The Athletic’s Sam Blum and Ken Rosenthal on Thursday afternoon.

In a corresponding move, Blum reported that the Angels are calling up former top prospect Christian Moore to take his place on the roster.

Trout, 34, was in the midst of a comeback season, as he was finally playing healthy baseball again.

This year, he’s certainly started to look like his old self and has been one of the best comeback stories in baseball, having 17 home runs and an .866 OPS.

At the beginning of June, Trout was in a cold stretch but once again started to find life in his bat. Over his last seven games, Trout had three home runs, five RBIs and two stolen bases.

Trout was on his way to earning his 12th nod as an All-Star and was set to appear in his first All-Star Game since 2019. He ranks second among American League outfielders in votes (926,601) behind the Yankees’ Aaron Judge.

From 2021-2024, Trout spent significant time on the IL, dealing with a calf injury, back injury, broken hamate bone and a torn meniscus on his left knee. The knee injury in 2024 affected his play in 2025.

Last season, the Angels decided to move Trout from center field to right field to try to keep him healthy.

He appeared in 130 games but didn’t look like the three-time AL MVP that he’s been in the past, hitting .232 and striking out 178 times, his second-highest total in a season.

During spring training this year, the Angels and Trout agreed to move him back to center because he finds it more comfortable and less taxing on his body.

With Trout going on the IL, Moore is slated to fill his place.

Moore was drafted as a second baseman with the eighth pick of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Angels and has struggled against MLB pitching.

In the minors this season, Moore has bounced around various positions, spending time at second base, third base and left field.

On May 3, Moore was placed on the IL while playing for Triple-A Salt Lake. Before the injury, he was struggling in the minors, hitting .213 with 24 strikeouts.

Since he’s returned to the Bees, he’s been on a tear, hitting six home runs, batting .474 and recording a 1.423 OPS in June.

New series set to start! The Athletics’ super long homestand finally enters its final series as the A’s play host to the Los Angeles Angels for the first time this season.

The

Taking the mound for the home team will be rookie Gage Jump. The left-hander has looked as good as advertised since joining the big league rotation. He’s already

Here’s how the A’s will line up behind their rookie starting pitcher tonight:

The hottest hitter on the team will bat leadoff tonight as Zack Gelof man the hot corner and hitting first tonight. Kurtz and Langeliers are right behind him in the order followed by Soderstrom and Wilson, the same middle of the order the A’s have been using recently.

Jonah Heim is back in the lineup tonight but he’ll swap places with Langeliers, taking over the DH role this evening. Outfielder Carlos Cortes, who is 11th in AL All-Star voting among outfielders draws the start in right field against a right-handed starter. Henry Bolte and Jeff McNeil round things out, playing center field and second base respectively.

Los Angeles will counter Jump with righty Ryan Johnson, who will be making his second career start tonight. It’s not likely to be an extended outing as he’s only made six starts split at three levels this season. His big league numbers aren’t all that inspiring for the Angels so the A’s need to take advantage of Johnson tonight.

And the Los Angeles lineup tonight:

No Mike Trout for the Angels tonight or for the rest of the series. He landed on the IL this afternoon thanks to a hamstring strain. They’ll rely on Jose Siri in center instead. Bad news for the Angels but great news for the A’s as Trout had been in the midst of a resurgent season.

Let’s go A’s!

Follow the Game:
Watch:
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Athletics – Talk 650 KSTE, KVMX 92.1/105.5, A’s Cast

Is Shohei Ohtani pushing himself a little bit too hard now?

That’s what California Post baseball writers Dylan Hernandez and Jack Harris are discussing on the latest episode of the Dodgers Post podcast, coming off Ohtani’s six-inning, four-run start against the Rays on Wednesday.

After Ohtani pitched through a knee injury and a blister in the outing, Jack wonders whether the two-way star could use a more extended break between outings now, while Dylan counters by noting the value of his innings and his ability to manage a grueling workload.

Later, the two analyze Mookie Betts’ season, what has made him the unluckiest hitter in baseball and why they remain bullish on him turning things around.

Finally, they look ahead to the Dodgers’ upcoming series against the Orioles, which will include a pivotal start from Roki Sasaki.

As always, they wrap with predictions and trivia. Dylan also remembers the time he learned of Manny Ramirez’s PED suspension.

All that and more, on the latest episode of Dodgers Post.